


The Anchor

by theonline



Category: Bastille (Band), To Kill A King (Band)
Genre: College AU, Friends to Lovers, M/M, what are transitions
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-26
Updated: 2017-02-25
Packaged: 2018-09-26 23:15:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9928289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theonline/pseuds/theonline
Summary: Dan hates traveling alone and decides to bring his best friend and roommate along for the ride.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [quietroom](https://archiveofourown.org/users/quietroom/gifts).



> I'll be updating tags and rating as the story progresses!

“D’you have a passport?”

It was early Sunday morning. The sun was barely above the horizon and shone through Ralph’s blinds at _just_ the right angle where it pierced his eyes through his closed lids. There was no way he’d be going back to sleep after this.

“A what,” Ralph grumbled, his eyes still closed.

“A passport? Has your face on it, lets you into different countries for up to like a month?”

Ralph slowly opened his eyes to find his roommate, Dan, sitting over his bed in the desk chair. His face was close enough that Ralph could see the faint freckles that were scattered all over Dan’s nose. His cheeks were rosy. They had both gone out for drinks the night before with friends. The pounding above Ralph’s temples made him regret making fun of Dan for having water with his whiskey.

“Why does that matter at this hour? Did you even sleep?” Ralph checked his alarm clock: 6:30. He didn’t even wake up that early for class. Ending the conversation for Dan, Ralph closed his eyes and rolled over. He heard Dan sigh.

“The semester’s almost over and I wanted to know if you wanted to go on holiday with me,” Dan mumbled. Ralph opened his eyes again.

“Where?”

“Durban.”

“Where?”

“South Africa. My mum and dad are from Durban. I’ve been there a couple times with them, but I’ve never gone without them. I want to experience it for myself, y’know?” Ralph hummed in agreement. “Figured I could go with a friend. You’re a friend. All works out.”

“Catch?”

“Isn’t one. Just not a fan of traveling alone. You can be good company, too.” Ralph could hear the smirk in Dan’s voice.

Ralph sat up in bed and scratched his back. He hazily glanced over at Dan; his smile was almost blinding. “Alright. I’ll just have to dig up my passport from, like, ’98 but yeah I’ll go with you.”  
Ralph could see Dan was having trouble containing his excitement. He chuckled as he laid back down and tried to find sleep.

***

Ralph’s pencil tapped furiously on his final. No one told him majoring in sound engineering involved maths of any sort. He wondered how Dan the English Major was doing in his maths-less world. Ralph only had this final and a major-related final left in the semester, but his head continued to thrum as though he still hadn’t fully recovered from his night out on Saturday. He glanced around the lecture hall; watched as everyone else worked on their exam as if they actually knew what they were doing. Bullshit.

Ralph heard his professor clear his throat. His eyes returned to his test. He only had to survive one more day, then it was off to Durban. Dan had been bouncing off the walls all of yesterday. He kept detailing to Ralph all the places he was going to take him, the food they were going to eat, the beaches. “I know the less crowded ones, thanks to my mum.” Dan kept asking Ralph questions as though Dan had never been on a plane before. “D’you think they’d let me bring my keyboard?” No. “What about at least my melodica.” The plane probably would, but I wouldn’t. Dan huffed at that response, which made Ralph smile. When Ralph asked about a hotel, Dan shrugged off the suggestion by mumbling about a small condo his parents owned about a mile from the beach. He always forgot how well off Dan’s family was.

“Time’s up. Pencils down.”

Ralph looked up again. Over half the class had finished and left long before time was called. He check his exam and noticed he only had worked on a few of the fifty problems. He groaned. Ralph meandered down to his professor and gave him a half-hearted wave as he left the classroom for good. At least he was free.

As he walked out of the classroom, Ralph listened to the conversations surrounding him. ‘How do you think you did on the test,’ ‘who's having a party tonight,’ ‘when are you leaving for Ibiza?’ The buzz filled the classroom and the hallways around Ralph. The impending last day of the semester made the air feel electric. Everyone seemed to be talking about leaving snowy England for some place warmer, even if only for a little bit. He beamed a little as he remembered that, for once, he would be a part of that Everyone.

Ralph was never the best with planes. The earliest flight he could remember was when his family went on holiday to Paris before the Chunnel opened. The flight was hell. He was hell. His parents were in hell. Ever since then he’s been trying to avoid using planes, opting for the, more comfortable in his opinion, train whenever possible.

But this. England to South Africa. There weren't any trains. Ralph checked. Even if there was one, he knew it'd take their entire planned holiday to reach Durban. He would just have to suffer the fourteen hour plane ride and hoped Dan was ready to endure whatever became of Ralph on the way there. Ralph almost considered backing out, not wanting to put him and Dan’s friendship to the ultimate test. They'd been sharing a dorm for over a year now; they'd seen each other naked. They had even cleaned up each other's vomit. But Ralph figured that if he and Dan survived the flights to Durban and back, he'd be heading home to Leeds a new man. A better man. A grown man who shat his pants only twice. His parents would be so proud.

Dan’s voice brought Ralph back to the current, plane-less, reality.

“Hey! How was your final?”

“Shit. I didn't even finish.”

They made their way to the dining hall. Dan complained about his final even though Ralph knew it was only to make him feel better. He knew Dan passed; probably aced it with flying colors. What did make Ralph feel better was knowing that Dan probably would've done just as poorly in maths as Ralph did. The cold stung his eyes. Ralph looked around and met the eyes of more brain-dead students trying to survive the last couple days of the semester. The outlook was bleak. But not for Dan. Not for Mr. ‘All-A*s-on-His-A-Levels.’ Ralph was supremely bitter. There was only a small age difference between them, but just looking at Dan made Ralph feel worlds older. Shit, Dan wasn’t even balding.

When they say at their table, Dan immediately slammed down three textbooks and poured over them. He was having difficulty reading, eating, and talking to Ralph at the same time, but endearingly managed to make it work. As time went on, their friends began to make their way to the table. Unlike Dan, none of them decided to attempt to multitask studying and eating.

“God, Dan, I can’t even look at a book let alone study at this point,” one moaned, looking at Dan with pain in her eyes.

“I jus’ wanna geh a good gray,” he replied with his mouth full.

Everyone mentioned that it wasn’t worth it. Ralph agreed. If his professors gave him the option of failing or sleeping in, Ralph had reached the point of choosing the latter without hesitation. Friday felt so far away. Ralph looked over at Dan, whose brow was furrowed in concentration. He remembered Dan mentioning one class he was struggling with; it was probably why he was studying at the moment. A couple months ago Dan let Ralph read a passage from that class. It was so boring Ralph remembered how he felt his eyes getting heavier with each word. He could still picture the horror in Dan’s eyes.

“I’m sure you’ll pass, Dan. You always do,” Ralph said. It looked like a weight had been lifted from Dan’s shoulders as he said it.

***

It was too early for anyone’s alarm to go off. Dan said he wanted to get an early start to beat traffic and lines at the airport. Ralph had argued that planes wouldn't even be awake at 4:30 in the morning. Dan laughed it off like Ralph was joking. He wasn't.

Dan’s family offered to let Ralph stay with them for the week between the end of the semester and the day they left for Durban. Ralph chose to spend the majority of it with his family before riding down to London a couple days before. Dan’s family felt almost too gracious to have Ralph over. Ralph almost immediately felt like a burden. The night he got to Dan’s house, his mom cooed at his passport photo.

“Look at how sweet that haircut is. It was so hard for us to get Dan to a barber when he was little.”

“Yeah, really. Sick bowl cut Pelleymounter,” Dan mumbled in his ear.

Dan’s morning voice sounded the same as his mumbling voice. Maybe it was because that's all he did for the first half hour after he woke up. He mumbled he was turning on a light. He mumbled that he was going to kick Ralph’s ass if he didn't get up. Ralph had already packed the night before, he figured he had earned an extra five minutes of sleep. Dan had other plans. As Ralph was sinking into sleep again, Dan slammed a pillow onto Ralph’s back, jarring him to reality.

“The cab’s gonna be here in ten minutes. If I have to get up, so do you.”

Ralph rolled his eyes and found his way upright. “I’m ready, asshole,” he said as he slipped on a pair of shoes.

Dan flipped him off, throwing clothes on the floor and grumbling about a specific shirt he wanted to bring. Ralph looked over at the window through half-closed eyes. The sun wasn’t even awake yet, yet here they were. Ralph could barely open his eyes. What he could see was blurred and out of focus. He could see the faint outline of Dan as he zipped around the room. He was humming a song Ralph didn't recognize.

Every time Dan checked something off his mental checklist, he attempted to coax Ralph onto his feet. He became hopeless enough in his cause that he eventually gave up. Ralph waited for the sound of the cab horn before getting up. He wanted to make Dan pay. He knew the trip would be worth it. He knew Dan was his best friend. But nothing would make him a morning person.

Much to Ralph’s surprise, London at nearly five in the morning was exactly like London at five in the evening. Traffic was backed up as far as Ralph could see. He noticed Dan’s leg jittering, eyes flitting from the roads, to the driver, to the sun just starting to peek over the horizon.

“Good thing you called this early. Unless this lets up it'll be another hour til Heathrow,” the driver said.

Dan looked over at Ralph. His eyes said a pure ‘fuck you,’ with a hint of ‘I told you so.’ Ralph stayed silent.

***

“Oh shit,” Dan mumbled as they entered the terminal. Ralph was too enraptured by the hustle and bustle of Heathrow to follow Dan’s eyes. “Our flight’s delayed.” Ralph’s gaze snapped over to Dan.

“How long?”

“Four hours. We’re not gonna get there ‘til nine in the evening our time. If everything goes right, that is.” Ralph watched as Dan cursed the weather. Under the flourescent lights, he could see the toll finals week took on Dan. He had three day old, patchy stubble stretching down to his neck. The dark circles under his eyes were more pronounced than they were two weeks ago. Dan reached into his bag and studied their tickets. He guided Ralph through the labyrinth of overpriced restaurants and information desks and crowds of tourists. There were already people waiting by their gate with disgruntled expressions. Dan tossed his bag onto a row of chairs and asked Ralph to watch them as he shuffled to buy them coffee.

Dan and Ralph had been roommates for a year and a half, but Ralph had never really studied Dan. He still carried himself like he did when they first met. He was bigger back then; he shrunk into himself to keep himself small, to not take up much room. He was taller than Ralph even though he slouched. Ralph hated Dan’s eyes because they never went dull even after two weeks of all nighters. When they were bloodshot after a night of drinking, they looked ever bluer.

Ralph scratched an itch under his hat. Did he have a crush on Dan? No. Maybe? What? A man can be enraptured by the blue of his mate’s eyes, he thought to himself. The thought escaped to the back of his mind as Dan brought the coffees. He mentioned that airports were bullshit. Ralph agreed. There really was no justification in charging nine pounds for two coffees.

***  
Ralph buzzed as the coffee hit his system. He feared having a heart attack and was wary of finishing the rest of his cup. He couldn’t stop bouncing his leg up and down. He check his watch for the tenth time; still two hours until their flight was supposed to board. Dan spent the first hour with his notebook, jotting down lyric ideas, sharing them with Ralph. Dan was dead set on him and Ralph starting their own band. He talked about it so much, and so excitedly, that Ralph was nearly inclined to agree.

By the time Ralph started to feel the coffee’s effects, Dan’s caffeine high was just ending. Dan had curled up into the gate’s seats with the side of his face shoved into Ralph’s arm in a way that made Ralph watch his breathing so as to not wake him up. Dan was in what Ralph liked to call “full sleep mode.” Dan had taken his shoes off; they were sat next to his bag on the ground. For some reason, his right hand clutched his shirt, and his mouth was partially open. Ralph thought he looked at least five years younger.

The airport intercom pinged, startling Dan from his slumber.

“Where are we,” he asked as he wiped the small amount of drool that had collected in the corner of his mouth.

“Still Heathrow. Still got about an hour and a half or so.”

Dan rubbed the sleep out of his eye. He groaned. Dan looked over at Ralph and raised his eyebrows and nodded over to the coffee shop. Ralph shook his head and raised his half full cup. Dan slipped his shoes back on and wandered back over to buy himself another cup.

“You should’ve brought your guitar,” Dan said. He sat back down and grabbed the notebook from his backpack. “Sure you could’ve cranked out at least two songs by now. Dunno how you do it, man.”

Ralph’s face warmed for a second before he noticed that Dan was still looking at him. He tried to nonchalantly shrug off the comment. “It's a gift.”

Dan smirked. He went back into his backpack and found his glasses. Even with them on, he still held the notebook close to his face.

***

“Now boarding: flight 1181 Air France to Durban International Airport.”

“Oh thank fucking god. I hate waiting,” Dan groaned, throwing his bag on his shoulder. Ralph followed suit and waited with Dan to board the plane.

“I got us seats next to each other,” Dan beamed.

Even Dan’s unusually upbeat attitude couldn't distract Ralph from what was coming. He already felt himself breaking out in a cold sweat. The flight was long. He didn't even know if there were multiple flights. He just knew that it would be at least twelve hours in the air. He started to get dizzy.

“Come on, mate.” Dan slung an arm over Ralph’s shoulder. “D10 and D11. D’you want the window seat?” Ralph could only shake his head ‘no.’

Twelve hours in the air. Two weeks in Durban was no where near long enough to recover from the impending ordeal.

Ralph watched as Dan expertly navigated the cramped cabin. He noticed the flight attendants had French accents. He prayed there wouldn't be anyone sitting in D9. It meant more space for Ralph, and he wanted to keep his panic attack between him and Dan. When they reached their seats, Ralph put his bag between his feet on the ground and sat there with his eyes closed. He refused to put his seatbelt on before the last possible second.

“Here,” Dan whispered as he reached down into his backpack. He pulled out a blue box that was smaller than his palm. “Sorry for all the secrecy. I wasn't sure if this was allowed on carry ons or not.”

Dan slid the small box into Ralph’s hand. “What is this?”

Dan’s mouth formed a tight line. Ralph could see a slight flush in Dan’s cheeks. “It's, uh. It's my Valium. I hate telling people that. Anyway, it helps with anxiety and sleeping and whatnot. I knew you weren't necessarily psyched about the flight, so I thought you could take this and try to sleep while we’re heading there. At the least it'll calm your nerves.”

It was Ralph’s turn to blush. He took the pill box from Dan and took one. He silently commented that it would need more than a Valium and a miracle to get him through the plane ride, but Ralph was grateful nonetheless.

The ding from the PA system on the place made Ralph jump. Ralph felt a warm hand slide onto his arm and looked over to see Dan smiling.

“They’re just telling us to put our seat belts on. The take off’s the worst part, then it’s smooth sailing for the rest of the ride.”

Ralph’s knuckles were already turning white. He appreciated Dan’s words, but they didn't matter at this point. Hell was beckoning him. Dan pried Ralph’s hand from the armrest and gripped it in his. Dan continued to whisper “it’s no big deal” over and over.

“Merci d’avoir choisi Air France.”

Ralph felt the plane jolt to life. The whir of the engines filled his ears. How was everyone else so calm? Why was no one else acting like him. He felt out of place, like everyone could tell he was having a meltdown. No one but Dan seemed to notice.

Maybe it was the valium kicking in, or maybe it was Dan’s eyes, but Ralph couldn't feel the plane leave the ground. He could still feel himself shaking. The plane shuddered as it stabilized in the air and Ralph felt his heart slow its pace as he realized that it was going to be nothing but sitting there for fourteen hours next to Dan. It finally felt manageable.

“What’d I tell you,” Dan smiled. “No big deal.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! It's been like over a year since I last put something up. I'm not sure when the next chapter will be up, I just wanted to post this before I lost the nerve.


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